Lora Leigh opens up a brand-new series with In Isabeau’s Eyes, about a woman trying to dodge the people who killed her parents and the protective man who tries to keep her alive. The characters are also stalked by nonsensical plotting and old-fashioned, stereotypical characterization.
Isabeau Boudreaux’s sight is beginning to return to her after the fifteen years of blindness that resulted after she was shot in the head in the same incident that killed both of her parents. Normally this would be great news, but since the return of her sight means her brain has also begun to heal enough to allow her to remember what happened that night, she is now a threat to the murderer. Staged road accidents and other calamities begin to plague her.
The amazingly named Tracker Calloway becomes obsessed with protecting his sister’s best friend. But she is strictly off-limits to him.
Isabeau tries to carve a new life out for herself. She and Tracker try to resist the pull of temptation while figuring out who trying to kill her. But can they really hold back when romance continues to beckon them?
Well, of course not. This is a book that suffers from Old Fashioned Romance-itis. We have the hero who constantly high-hands the heroine, makes demands and orders her around. We have the heroine who’s Feisty and Independent, but ends up being micromanaged by every person in her life, and is a constant victim to the drama and fol-de-rol surrounding her. We have the mystery, which is remarkably easy to solve due to Ebert’s law of excessive characters. Isabeau seems to mostly exist as a victim and to get really horny for Tracker’s biceps.
It also absolutely does not work as a stand-alone, as it’s heavily interlaced with characters and plot points from Leigh’s Nauti Boys series, from which this is a spin off. Worse, the book suffers from so much repetition. Do not slug a drunk every time Tracker thinks about how he’ll kill the bastards trying to touch Isabeau, you will die an expeditious death. It seems to come up every single page!
The best part of the romance – and I rarely say this – is the sex scenes. They are, at least, a steamy, fun distraction that explains why Tracker’s pushy ass would risk it all for Isabeau’s weaksauce self. In Isabeau’s Eyes will leave you yearning for an afternoon with Laura Mars.
Grade: C-
Book Type: Romantic Suspense
Sensuality: Hot
Publication Date: 03/2023
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